


High School Relationships Don't Last

by TheRedAlice



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, F/M, High School AU, Human AU, Human! Alphys, Human! Monster Kid, Human! Napstablook, Human! Papyrus, Human! Sans, Human! Toriel, M/M, Reader Is Not Frisk, Undertale High School! AU, Undertale Human! AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-06
Updated: 2016-08-12
Packaged: 2018-05-25 01:03:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6173935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRedAlice/pseuds/TheRedAlice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>To be clear, im not really putting my all into this story. It was a side idea i had so i decided to write a chapter for it. I may add some more things to this chapter if i have an idea, but i wont be consistent with this story.</p>
        </blockquote>





	1. Only the First Month

You walked slowly through the halls of your new high school. It was your first month and you still weren’t used to the corridors and locations of your classes. However, when you looked over to your right, you saw your second period class. You grabbed the strap of your messenger bag and turned the knob, opening the door that lead to Toriel’s AP English III class.

Up front, someone was giving a presentation on a book they finished. They stopped mid-sentence and looked up. You recognized him as Napstablook and gave him a wide smile and a thumbs up as you found your seat near the middle of the class and sat down. He smiled back. You seemed to have given him a boost of confidence, for his chest seemed to puff out slightly and his voice was less shaky.

“In conclusion, I believe that,” Napstablook looked up at the crowed of people and seemed to shrink back, “that… um… _The Gentleman’s Guild to Being Dapper_ … is… a really good book and you should all read it.” Napstablook rushed his words and took his seat that was up near the front.

Toriel stepped out from behind her desk. “Thank you Napstablook for sharing your thoughts on your favorite book.” She gave him a patient smile.

“You're welcome Ms. Dreemurr…” He mumbled under his breath as he shrunk into his chair. He turned around and you mouthed a “great Job” to him. He smiled and faced the front again.

“Now, as for you…” Toriel said as she turned to you,” do you have an excuse or pass?”

You fumbled with your pockets and pulled out a folded white slip of paper. It read:  _Sorry, I still can’t find my way around._  You held it up for her to grab. She unfolded the paper and read it.

“Ah, I see,” She folded the paper and gave it back to you,” Thank you.” She turned and walked towards the front. “Now class, take out your homework and pass it up to the front. I will come around and collect it.”

You grabbed your binder from your bag and flipped to the “English” divisor and took out the paper that said “Favorite Book Review”. You quickly wrote your name on it and passed it up to a small Asian girl sitting in front of you.

"Hoi," she began. It was clear she was still learning to speak English. You glanced at her paper and saw that she wrote perfect English. "I'm Temmi!" She almost yelped. It was clear she was happy about what she said.

"Hello there!" You told her your name and shook her hand after she grabbed your paper, passing it to Napstablook, who passed it to a kid who grabbed it his foot. You watched as the arm-less teen turned around and flashed a giant smile, waving with his foot. You pulled up your foot and waved back.

________

It was a good thing you knew where the lunch room was from your third period classes, because you were starving. Once that bell rung, you were already out of the door and down the stairs by the time it ended. You thought you were going to be the first one there, but no. That guy, that one guy, was always there and in line.

You knew who he was; He was Sans, captain of the Track and Field team. While Sans did nothing but sit on the bleachers during practice, he was the fastest

You two had a silent agreement that every day you would race to lunch. You knew that he would always win, and he knew it too. But no matter what, you still tried. 

He saw you standing in the doorway, fuming and clenching your fist. You were only trying to look intimidating, and Sans knew this. It had no effect on him, but when he winked at you and walked to his usual spot, you unclenched your fists, blushed, and walked to a lunch line. You scanned the food options.

Nothing interested you, so you nabbed a sandwich, paid, and sat down at a table. You watched as Papyrus walked into the lunch room, along with a flood of students, and look for his brother. When he found him, a wide grin spread across his face and he rushed over to sit next to him. You couldn’t help but envy the bond the brothers shared.

\-----------

Nothing angered you more than walking into a class that you knew had judgmental people in it. Why, out of all of your classes, did it have to be science? This was usually one of your favorite subjects and it just had to be ruined by the personality types you hated the most. When you walked in to that classroom, all you could think about what how you hurt anyone that came near you.

You sat down and plopped your bag down next to you with an annoyed sigh. The bell rang and as usual, none of the chatter died down. The student teacher, Ms. Alphys (she was working towards her doctorate and soon she would be Dr. Alphys. While she disliked you calling her Dr. when she didn't yet have her degree, you kept doing it because you knew it helped with her confidence) tried to quiet down the class, but was failing. She gave you a distressed glance with tried eyes that cried, "Please help me out."

You rolled your eyes, sighed, and stood up to walk to the front of the class. This wasn't a new thing for you to do, so when your classmates saw you at the front of the class, they talked louder. You growled under your breath and shifted your weight to your right foot.

"Hey!" You said trying to get everyone's attention without yelling. Few stopped to actually look at you, but when they did they quickly went back to their conversations.

"Hey!" You shouted slightly louder, now angry. No one stopped to look at you. Sighing once again, you shifted your weight and crossed your arms. You hated yelling, but you were going this for Alphys' sake, so you had no problem trying to shut up idiots that were failing AP science their first month.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" you almost screeched. Everyone stopped what they were doing and faced towards you. You could get away with saying such vulgar words in class and you loved it. "Now listen here you ignorant sacks of wasted oxygen!" This wasn't new, but it didn't stop your legs from trembling and your stomach from knotting. "Dr. A-"

"Um... not yet Dr..." Alphys interrupted in a shaky whisper. You gave her a soft smile. She quickly signed "Just this one time, please?" with wobbling hands. She learned how to sign from Frisk. They taught the deaf and blind teens that come to school. The arm-less boy would often visit the class they taught and would teach them how to write in braille. He took pride in the fact that he could do it with his mouth.

You nodded and turned to the class once more. "Ms. Alphys has been studying hard for her classes and is still trying to be on top of everything. And what the fuck do you shit sticks do? You turn to your buddy and yell as loud as you fucking can to try and gossip about who screwed who at that one party and who's getting a sex change and who is different from who." You began to move from your spot and point your finger at people. You flailed your arms and went on a rant about all the shit your piers valued more than their education.

You eventually calmed down when the science teacher, who did have a doctorate in teaching and sciences, walked in to the door. Your head snapped over him in slight fear. He raised an eyebrow in confusion. You couldn't help but wonder for the millionth time how he got those scars. One going up in a crooked line from his right (witch was hooded slightly), and one going down on his left. They clashed brilliantly in a strange way with is dark skin. Without being told, you walked calmly to your seat, trying to show that you weren't scared in the slightest. Yet something about him made you want to shrink into a corner and cry.

"Dr. Gaster." You say coolly as you sit down.

He replied with your last name just as smoothly and walked to the front of the class, his black lab coat swooshing behind him.

______________

Maybe it was the fully loaded peanut butter sandwich you had during lunch, or maybe it was just nerves, but you felt sick. Maybe it was all the tests you had tomorrow, or maybe it was the sight of Napstablook being shoved into a corner by a gang of track team members. For some reason, you could only watch as they pushed him further and further into the corner.

All Napstablook could do was shrink into himself and whimper as one of them raised a hand to strike him. He noticed you hiding behind a wall and stared with pleading eyes. A flash of a pale, bloody figure came before your eyes. You could never let that happen to him.

  
A wave of adrenaline flooded over you and you felt as if you were drowning in a sea of your own emotions and feelings. You felt as if you were stuck in a whirlpool of fear and hate.

“HEY!” You shouted at the three people surrounding a helpless Napstablook. They turned around, smirks and scowls plagued their faces. “Leave him alone!” You said in your most intimidating voice. It obviously didn’t have an effect.

“Why should we? He’s just a little punk who can barely even talk!” the boy in the middle of the three sneered. You looked to his pocket and saw the shape of a knife. You swallowed.

“Because, if you don’t,” You started to space out your words, each word becoming softer, “You’re going to have a REALLY bad time.” You heard someone behind you say in unison with yourself as your smirk went wide and your knuckles cracked. You felt someone step forward and stand beside you. You didn’t have to look over to know who it was.

You watched in glee as the stance of the three, once tall and confident, wavered. “S-Sans!” the one on the left stuttered, a nervous laugh escaping their lips.

  
“Yup, that’s me. Mind telling me what’s going on here?” he asked, a wide but threatening smile clear on his face.

“Well, um… y-you see… we were just,” the one on the right began to glance around nervously, then his eyes landed on a still cornered Napstablook. They wrapped their arm around him and pulled him close. “We were just hanging with ol’ Nappy here!” Napstablook stayed quiet. He locked eyes with Sans and gave a small nod. His eyes then flicked to you. Still pleading, still frightened. All fear that was once in your body vanished. You were filled with an unfamiliar emotion: determination. You brought your hands up to your head and cracked your neck.

“Don’t you dare lie to me.” You growled as you stepped closer. You felt Sans move with you and they dropped their façade.

“And what if I do? Wha’chya gonna do about it?” They smirked. It seemed they’d forgotten about Sans. You raised a foot to leave, put it down, raised your fist, and then everything was a blur. You felt hot warm fluid flow through your fingers as your fist collided with flesh. All you smelled was metal. You heard cries of mercy, pleads for you to stop, and chocked sobs. You felt blood on your face... or maybe it was your own anger induced tears. You still couldn’t figure it out.


	2. Meeting Papyrus

Because you’d taken the bus that morning, Sans drove you home that night. You sat in the passenger seat of his car, hoping that people would think the blood was just paint. Hoping to whatever higher power there may be that you didn’t get it on San’s seats. Blood stains are a bitch to get out; you should know.

Sans was the one to break the silence.

“They’re going to be suspended. “Sans informed you, tilting his head sideways towards you while keeping his eyes on the road. You flicked your gaze to him. “So, because of what you did, you might be lucky enough to be suspended for a month. What you did was expulsion worthy.” He said in a surprisingly deep voice.

“I know.” You stated, turning your gaze to the road once more. You wished you had your headphones.

“Good… as long as you know…” He mumbled, pulling his car to a stop at the red light. You looked out of the window and to the car beside you. The girl driving turned her head to you and gave a small wave. You attempted a smile and waved back, turning your head back to the road. The light turned green and Sans pressed the gas.

___________

It wasn’t until you had taken your puppy out and safe inside your home that you began to think more about what happened. You wondered why Sans was there in the first place and what exactly Napstablook had done to grab the attention of those three. Maybe it was just that he had bumped into them or asked the wrong person for the wrong thing, whether it be a pencil or paperclip. When exactly did Napstablook get their attention? None of these questions stuck with you as you grabbed your tablet from your bag, collapsed on your bed, and played a video to fall asleep to.

_______

 

When you woke up that next morning, your mouth felt dry and your eyes felt crusty. You rubbed them and snuggled into your comforter, just wanting to go back to sleep. You tried to recall what day it was and decided to get up anyways to start the day. Going into the bathroom, you refilled the cup you kept in there with tap water and grabbed your orange bottle of pills from the medicine cabinet beside you. You uncapped the bottle and tapped the edge lightly in your palm. A single white 10 millimeter tablet fell out and you put it down on the bathroom counter. Putting everything away and then taking your singular pill, you made your way to the kitchen.

You made your usual scrambled eggs and toast, slathering butter and jam on it and biting a large chunk out of the first slice. Chewing slowly, you walked into the living room and flicked on the television. The first thing that came on wasn’t usually what you watched, but this particular show you hadn’t seen before. You’d heard about it, but never actually put your time into watching it. Large pink words flashed and sparkled on the screen.   _MTT’S MORNING SHOW!_

A tall boy, roughly your age, flung out his arms and smiled brightly before he sat down in his chair. The crowd went wild as he did, cheers and applause were almost all you could hear other than some music.  “Hello beauties and gentle-beauties! Welcome to my morning show! Today, we’ll be talking about something different.” Some aww’s were heard from the crowd and the boy just scanned the crowd with a sympathetic smile.

“Yes, yes darlings, I know. However, those that go to Mount Ebbot High School, boy do I have a treat for you!”  His smile got wider and his eyes began to sparkle. You sat up a bit straighter and took another bite of your toast and eggs. Considering that this was your school, your interest was piqued. “For those that may be tuning in just today, my name is Mettaton, and starting today, I will be going to Mt. Ebbot High!”

The crowd cheered once more. Mettaton, who looked to be a big star because your phone was blowing up with notifications, was going to be going to your high school. You were excited for those that already liked Mettaton and for you to get a chance to meet a celebrity. Suddenly wanting to focus on school, you glanced at the time. If you didn’t hurry, you were going to be late.

_____________

Once you’d actually finished your breakfast and arrived at school, almost the entire building was covered with people and cameras. Flashes went off almost every second and you could hear the annoying chatter of reporters and students that were all too excited to see Mettaton. Instead of trying to be stealthy, you grabbed your bag and backpack and thought about slamming your car door. You decided against it and closed the door gently.

“OH MY GOD SANS LOOK!”  A voice screeched beside you. You smiled and looked beside you. A tall, dark boy stood next to you. His hands were covering his mouth and looked as if he had literal stars in his eyes.

“Look at what Paps?” you heard a deep voice say. You glanced over again and saw Sans walking up next to his brother. You two made momentary eyes contact and exchanged a small nod.

“HIM! IT’S METTATON!” papyrus shouted, a gasp following right after. You looked over to Mettaton, whose head was peeking out slightly from the crowd of people. A tan hand waved back and forth for a moment before disappearing into the sea of people.

“Oh, I suppose it is,” You said, joining in on the fun. Papyrus’ head turned to you.

“OH MY SANS, LOOK! IT’S A HUMAN!” He said excitedly, as if you were a human in a world of aliens or monsters.

“Paps, I think you forget sometimes that you’re human too.” Sans said jokingly as he nudged his brother’s arm and began to walk forward. You and Papyrus followed.

“YES, I KNOW SANS, BUT HUMAN CONTACT IS RARE FOR ME!” he said, turning his head to his brother.

“Either way,” you interrupted,” the name’s (Y/N).” you said as you held out your hand. Papyrus took it and shook it violently.

“I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! SO VERY NICE TO MEET YOU!”   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be clear, im not really putting my all into this story. It was a side idea i had so i decided to write a chapter for it. I may add some more things to this chapter if i have an idea, but i wont be consistent with this story.


	3. Anxiety

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy fuck, an update after sooo long! wowie! (but really though, its been so long and im sorry, please forgive me.)

You, Sans, and your new friend Papyrus walked together towards the crowd. You saw Papyrus hesitate before continuing with you and his brother. One all of you were at the border, he grabbed your shoulder, causing you to take a few step back from the distance between you two.

“U-Um… (Y/N)?” Papyrus said silently, a new and unusual development from his usual personality around Sans.

“Yeah?” You asked in a whisper. It was clear, in this case, that he didn’t want to draw attention to himself. You glanced over and saw Sans stop next to his brother. Just his presence seemed to calm the tall boy, for you saw his body visibly relax.

“I… Um… Maybe we should find a different entrance? I mean, as excited as I am to see Mettaton, I don’t want all of the-“You grabbed his hand comfortingly and looked him in the eyes.

“Paps, it’s alright, really. You’ve got Sans with you, and now you’ve got me. Just relax, alright pal?” You said as you rubbed the top of his hand. He nodded and smiled as he took his hand out of yours. Your turned around and be and to walk forward with the brothers in tow.

You looked over at Papyrus and smiled before taking his hand and rushing into the crowd of flashing lights and suited bodies. You only had to push past a few people to get the center of attention. You didn’t think he would be this tall. You wondered if the school would permit him to wear a crop top that short. You scanned his body.

Mettaton was pretty muscular. You ended up just focusing on his stomach, where a pink heart tattoo lay perfectly around his bellybutton. You wondered if he had gotten it before or after he was famous and what meaning it might have held.

“Mettaton, my name is (Y/N)!” You didn’t bother to put your hand out, after all you weren’t the one who wanted to meet him so bad. You instead gave a small wave and turned to the boy beside you, “and this tall glass of water is Papyrus!” You exclaimed as you gestured to him. He stuck out his hand, which Mettaton took gently and kissed softly.

“Nice to meet you Papyrus. My name is Mettaton… But you already know that.” He said softly as he looked up with hooded eyes and a smirk. Papyrus stayed silent and began to blush. You didn’t expect Mettaton to be so direct.

You looked back at Sans. His singular blue eye seemed to glow and you could tell that he was angry and tense. You flashed him a quick smile and he seemed to calm down as his shoulders relaxed. One you turned your back, however, the anger returned.

“N-NICE TO MEET YOU TOO M-METTATON! I AM THE GREAT P-PAPYRUS!” he exclaimed, trying to hide is embarrassment. The 7 o’clock bell rang as Mettaton tried to reply.

“Whelp, gotta get to class. Bye!” You rushed while grabbing Papyrus’ wrist and dragging him inside, knowing how desperately Papyrus wanted to get out of that situation. You knew how fast a panic attack could come on, and it was clear that he wanted to leave.

____________

The first two periods seemed to go by faster than you wanted them too. It turned out that Sans and Papyrus had transferred to one of your classes, under Papyrus’ request. It was strange to you because it usually took a few days at least to get the class change request approved. When you had talked to Sans about it at lunch during third period, he said nothing. However, after you had come back from your suspension and almost 5 months, Sans told you.

“Because of that day, he was able to get out of the class with Mettaton and into a class with you. He said he felt… uncomfortable, which is strange because I thought he loved Mettaton. He’s always saying how he wishes he could be as confident as him, as fabulous as him, as beautiful as him… I think it’s just a load of crap. I mean, they’re such good friends now that I just can’t think of why Paps would ever be uncomfortable around him…”

You sighed and gave Sans a small smile. “Well, Papyrus has anxiety, Sans.” At the mention of his name, Sans turned to you and gave you a strange look. “It’s not hard to tell, really.”

Sans looked down at his fries somberly and thought. He had noticed Papyrus’ confidence decline and he had kept more to himself more often. Maybe he should pay more attention to the people around him…

Sans sighed inwardly and looked back up to you as he attempted to chew on a fry he dunked in ketchup. It was too crispy for his liking, but he tried not to spit it out even though the thought of food at the moment made him sick.

He was genuinely worried for his brother. The two had such a close relationship that whenever they talked, they almost didn’t need to because they could tell exactly what the other was thinking. Maybe it was because Papyrus was beginning to shut himself in his room as much as Sans did nowadays. He absolutely hated the feeling of being this useless to his only brother.

“Well, if I were to talk to him, would you come with me? He trusts you as much as he trusts me and I feel like it would be better for all of us if you were there.” Sans sighed as you placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a small squeeze of comfort.

“Yes, I would gladly talk to him with you. You and papyrus could use the support. It’s a tough subject to confront, I know, but don’t worry. I’ll be there every step of the way. And besides, papyrus would be more than happy to talk it out. Keeping insecure feelings locked away like he’s doing will probably make it worse for him.” You advised, the bell sounding for the end of the lunch period sounding through the cafeteria after you had finished your sentence.

“Good… good…” Sans mumbled as he gathered his trash onto the Styrofoam tray and dumped it into the trash can before exiting through one of the doors but waiting for you and holding it open.   

“Maybe it’d be best to just rip the Band-Aid off and come over after school today. I really just wanna get this out of the way.” Sans suggested with a blow of air through his nose and door shutting behind him.

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, actually.” You confessed, gripping your bag strap as you tried to move through the crowd of people that flooded out of the lunch room along with you and Sans.

“Good… So, I’ll meet you at your locker and ill drive you to my place, yeah?” Sans suggested as you two stopped before a flight of stairs leading to the C hallway.

“yeah.” You said quickly before rushing up the steps, aware that the late bell would ring at any moment. You turned back and gave Sans a small wave, but tripped over one of the steps in the process. You made a quick recovery, but your shin would definitely be bruised later.

You gave a shy smile as you went a bit slower up the stairs and gripped the strap of your bag in embarrassment. Sans returned the smile and shook his head, walking towards his English class in the A hallway.


	4. A visit for Papyrus

The inside of Sans’ house was different that you expected. The floors were a blue and purple with a slight wave pattern with a brown table with a rock on a plate, along green couch pressed against the left wall near the front door where you had just walked in. Across form it was a reasonably sized T.V. and next to that was a dirty sock with blue and orange sticky notes posted on the wall behind it.

 Sans walked around the couch and placed his car keys next to a quantum physics book. You walked over to it and picked it up.

“Sans, why do you have a Quantum Physics book just randomly lying around?” You questioned as you held it up and turned to Sans, who was making his way to the kitchen. He was trying to hold back a smile.

“Dunno. Why do you open it up? It’s a good read.” Sans suggested as he walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. You shrugged and opened up the book. Inside, there was a joke book. Confused, you open up the joke book. Inside was another quantum physics book. You open up the quantum physics book and find a joke book. This goes on for a while. After a minute or so of utter confusion, you decide to stop.

Sans walks back into the living room with a bottle of ketchup in his hand. You looked over to him with puffed cheeks and a frustrated expression.

“So, I see you’ve found the Quantum Physics book.” Sans commented.

“Well, yeah! You’re the one who told me to read it!” you countered with a laugh.

“How’d ya find it?” He asked, taking a sip of his… drink.

“It was… weird? I dunno, it was very confusing, though… say, why are you drinking ketchup?” You asked as you pointed to the ‘drink’ and walked over to a smiling Sans.

“I actually have no idea. It’s just bee this thing where ketchup is a satisfying drink…” Sans answered truthfully, taking another gulp of the thick tomato condiment. You shrugged and decided to see what the notes were about, since they had caught your eye as you turned around. You walked over to the sock and picked up the notes as you read them.

 _“SANS, PLEASE PICK UP YOUR SOCK!”_ the first orange one read.

 _“Ok.”_ One of the blue ones read.

_DON’T PUT IT BACK DOWN, MOVE IT!_

_Ok._

_YOU MOVED IT TWO INCHES! MOVE IT TO YOUR ROOM!_

_Ok._

_AND DON’T BRING IT BACK!_

_Ok._

_IT’S STILL HERE!_

_Didn’t you say not to bring it back to my room?_

_FORGET IT!_

You laughed quietly and placed the notes back in their rightful place. Dust had settled around it, making it fun to try and place them back exactly. You sighed, making some of the dust scatter, but most of it had stick stuck to the light jam colored walls.

You stood back up, wincing slightly at the sound your joints made when they popped. “Wow, that certainly sounds like a good thing.” Sans commented as he walked into the living room, the bottle of ketchup no longer in his hands.

“Yeah, you hush.” You mumbled, stretching your back. Sans walked over to you and lead you over to the couch. He bent down and began to move things around.

“Lay on your stomach.” He mumbled as he sat up from arranging the pillows and pointed to the couch. You obliged with a shrug, not thinking much of the out-of-nowhere request. You brought yourself down on the couch, your face resting on the soft yellow pillows. The looked and smelled new, as if one of the brothers had gotten them just this week.

“Sorry if they smell weird, Paps bought them a few days ago and the store was not the best smelling.” Sans warned, bending his knuckles with a satisfying _crack_.  

“Na, don’t worry about it,” you answered sleepily,” It smells fine.”

“Hmm, good.”

Sans began to massage your back with his boney fingers in slow back and forth motions. He applied slight pressure as he pressed his fingers forward around your shoulder blade. You smiled and relaxed at his touch, giving out a happy sigh as tension in your shoulders was relieved.

You were about to stop him and give him a massage in return, the exaggerated closing of the front door. You jumped at the sound and Sans removed his hands, quickly putting them up defensively. When he turned and saw who had entered the room, he lowered his hands and relaxed.

“Oh, hey Paps.” Sans greeted as you sat up and stretched your back, missing the feeling of the massage.

“Hello, brother!” Papyrus said with a wide smile,” Oh, and (Y/N) is here too! What a treat!” His grin grew wider as he plopped his book bag next to the couch and sat down next to you. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” You gave a small, sad smile and took in a breath.

“I’m here to talk to you, actually…” Papyrus furrowed his eye brows and cocked his head sideways at your statement.

“Why? Is something the matter?” he questioned innocently, a slight tremble in his voice,

“No, not really- not with me, anyways.” You placed a hand on his. “I wanted to talk to you about your anxiety.” You stated simply, softening your eyes to make him comfortable.

“Anxiety? Why?” he inquired, the tremble a bit clearer in his voice.

“Because, Papyrus, it’s something that needs to be talked about and can’t be evaded.” He shifted in his spot, clearly uncomfortable. He removed his hand from yours and gripped his outfit. It was a clear sign that he didn’t want to talk- you did this too- but you allowed the position if it made him feel better in the current situation.

It was silent in the house. Papyrus said nothing as sans shifted his weight to another foot and shoved his hands in his hoodie pockets. Occasionally, Papyrus would take a deep breath and open his mouth, as if he was going to say something, but would slowly shut it and continue looking away from the two of you. Slightly fed up, Sans decided to speak.

“Paps, we’re both worried about you. We want you to talk about this with us- we want you to trust us.” He spoke softly, walking forward and sitting on your opposite side. Papyrus glanced towards his brother as he talked, but as soon as he stopped he went back to staring at nothing. You wanted to stay quiet and let Papyrus talk on his own terms, but Sans wasn’t having it.

“Papyrus,” he said a bit too harsh to his brother.  You turned to Sans and gave him a wide-eyed warning glare.

“Don’t.” you mouthed, hardening your features and then turned back around. You placed a hand softly on Papyrus’ thigh and rubbed your thumb over it comfortingly. You gave a small smile and whispered,” Take your time. It’s alright, we don’t want to rush you.”

“Bullshit!” Sans shouted as he stood up and threw his arms out of his pockets. You whipped your head around and glared every dagger you had. “Paps, we care about you, but we can’t just sit here and take the silence!” You gave Papyrus’ thigh a soft squeeze before standing up from the couch.

“Sans, stop. You don’t know-“

“You’re right, I don’t! But sitting down and not talking isn’t going to make or help me understand!”

“Well standing up and yelling at me or Papyrus isn’t going to any of us!” you countered.

“Well, I can’t just sit here knowing something is wrong!”

“Then maybe instead of yelling, try being patient!”

“Patience isn’t something I have a lot of when it comes to these sort of problems!”

“This isn’t a problem, Sans! Why the hell are you so pissed off that he’s not talking because he’s uncomfortable, anyways, huh?”

“Because I’m mad at myself for doing this to him!” Sans screamed, shooting his arms up and chocking on a sob. The room went deathly quiet. The sounds of Sans catching his breath filled your ears as they tried to focus on anything other than the silence. He was crying now, and so were you. Tears that were once forming from anger were now in sock and sadness.

“Sans… what do you mean?” Papyrus asked as he stood up slowly. His voice was trembling and cracking, sadness and confusion clear in his features and voice.

“I mean… I… mean…” Sans looked downwards to the floor and traced the pattern subtly with his eyes to calm himself.  "I mean that… ever since you were small, I babied you… I did everything for you, tried to protect you because you were so scared to talk to others.” Sans took in a breath and exhaled as a tear dropped from his check.

“When you felt confident, I was so proud because I thought, somewhere along the line, that I messed up. That I had caused you to be afraid of others because I did most of the talking for you…”

Papyrus’ eyes began to well with tears. He sniffled and whipped one of his eyes with a gloved hand. “Sans… you didn’t do anything like that… You didn’t cause… this.” He gestured to himself and sniffled again. “I did this-“

“Papyrus, no. It’s never your fault.” You said calmly.

“Of course I did! I convinced myself that, no matter what I did, everyone would judge me!” papyrus exclaimed as he clasped his hands together and wrung them quietly. He visibly tensed his shoulders up and his head down, avoiding eye contact with you or Sans.

You turned to Sans and placed a hand on his arm, gesturing subtly to the couch. He sat down as you stepped towards Papyrus and grabbed his hands calmly. He looked up at you with teary eyes and a wet face. You smiled warmly at him and walked backwards towards the couch. He followed your hands still in his. He sat in the middle of you and his brother, rubbing his palms on his thighs and exhaling. He looked over to you, then to Sans. A small smile formed on his lips.

“Before high school, I always felt nervous in lines, in public, or around other people. It would start with the feeling that people were staring or watching me. I felt uncomfortable and a bit unsafe.” Sans tensed at the word as it left his brother’s mouth. “When I started high school, I felt like if I made one small mistake or did something that made me stand out, they would target me.” Sans tensed again.

“Paps, I would never let that happen. You can always come to me-“

“Or me” you added.

“-for anything. You know that, right?” Sans spoke in a soft, but serious tone.

“Yes, I know that… I just don’t want to be a burden on either of you.” Papyrus’ voice started to shake.

“Paps don’t worry about being a burden. You will never be a burden on us. Never.” You gave his knee a soft pat and smiled.

“She’s right, you know.” Sans added. “You aren’t, and never will be, a burden to me. I took you in for a reason, remember?” Sans gave a hopeful smile. Papyrus exhaled a small laugh.

“Yeah, I remember all right.” He turned his head to Sans and returned the small grin. You yourself smiled and wrapped your arms around the brother’s shoulders, pulling them towards you in an awkward group hug.

“Either of you can come to me for anything.” You whispered with a soft smile. “I never want you two to think you can’t come to me for help.”

“Yeah, same goes for you.” Sans whispered back. You released them from the hug and gave Papyrus and Sans a kiss on their foreheads. Papyrus just giggled, while Sans gave an awkward grin.

“So, I’m hungry.” You stated. Papyrus jumped up (quite literally) and ran to the kitchen screaming,” DON’T WORRY, THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL MAKE SPAGHETTI!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I'm rushing the story .-. also, I'm not sure if this should have the (Y/N) and (L/N) stuff. Im also not sure if this should be gender neutral, and if I can do that without saying "they" or doing the Y/N stuff or _____. tell me what you think in the comments so I know what diffrent readers want :D


	5. Chapter 5

After dinner, which consisted of spaghetti that tasted of salted cardboard, Sans and you decided to sit down on the couch and watch TV. Nothing particularly good was on, but then again, nothing really was. The only show that you remotely liked was Mettaton’s show, even if it was just him sitting in a studio of everything pink and talking about nonsense. Yet, it was Papyrus’ favorite. The two had become such good friends that Papyrus would almost always be backstage for every show.

_“…and just look at this dress, darlings! It is positively stunning! If only I had someone to model this for me…” Mettaton pondered while holding the black hanger that held the dress up. He scanned the audience quickly, his gaze flicked from one excited member to the next. Suddenly, a wide grin spread across his face. “You there!” he pointed to a woman with short blonde hair and glasses in the back row. “Come on up here darling!”_

_The spotlight that once shinned on Mettaton now swung over to the woman. As it landed on her, she let out an audible peep of surprise and tried to shrink into her chair._

_“I-I… um…” She gulped and wrung her hands together. Her eyes flicked around in anxiety, trying to look anywhere but the camera that was right in her face. She tried to reach to her left, where another woman with long red hair sat. She grabbed her hand and squeezed it softly._

_“You too, darling, come up here!” Mettaton shouted, pointing to the other woman. The spotlight expanded slightly so it encased the two in a white-yellow light. The woman with red hair gave the other’s hand another squeeze and stood up. The woman with red seemed so much taller than the other, but it might have been the fact that she was almost constantly hunched over._

_The woman with blonde hair stood alongside the other woman shakily and followed her to the stage. Once the two were up, Mettaton gave them both a hug and a soft, almost apologetic, smile to the woman with blonde hair._

_“I’m so glad the two of you agreed to come up! Now, darlings, what are your names?” Mettaton asked as he angled his mic to the two._

“You know them already, so why don’t you just introduce them?” You mumbled to yourself. Sans looked over to you curiously.

“Hm?” He hummed in question, assuming you were talking to him. You looked over to his spot on the couch

“Huh? Nothing.”  You hunched over slightly to rest your elbows on your thighs. Sans kept his eyes on you and watched your movement. He shrugged and turned his attention back to the TV with you.

_“The name’s Undyne!” she said with a wide grin and jutting a thumb to herself.  She looked over to the shorter woman and placed a hand on her back. She cleared her throat and extended her neck awkwardly to reach the mic’s position._

_“A-Alphys…” She said, her voice barely above a whisper._

A wide grin spread across your face and you jumped up from the couch in excitement. You pumped your fists, whooped and hollered, and couldn’t stop smiling.

“What’s up, kiddo?” Sans questioned sleepily. You didn’t realize how tired he was, and neither did he until he actually spoke. He rubbed his eyes and blinked rapidly for a few seconds before yawning. When he closed his mouth, you yawned as well.

 “Ach, fuck you.” You mumbled once you had finished your deep intake of air. Sans chuckled at your comment. You caught a glimpse of the TV screen and gasped, snapping your fingers in remembrance.

“Sans,” you yelled,” you have no idea how proud I am right now!” you exclaimed.

“Okay, then enlighten me. Don’t yell this time, though, I’m literally right in front of you.” He replied, adjusting his slumped position on the couch.

“Okay, so, you know Ms. Alphys, right? The student teacher for Dr. Gaster’s science class?”

“Yeah. What about her?”

“She has really bad anxiety and hardly never goes out unless it’s with her girlfriend, the gym teacher Undyne- you know her, right?” you didn’t stop to hear his answer. “Anyways, she’s on Mettaton’s show! Look at her!” You pointed to the television screen and sat down, steepling your hands under your nose. You couldn’t hold back your grin. “I am so proud of her right now, oh my god.”

“Good for her, then. I’m glad she’s improving.” Sans commented dully. While his tone didn’t show it, you knew he was genuinely happy for her. You turned your focus back to the TV.

_“So, Doctor A- “_

_Alphys cleared her throat and found the courage to correct him, “Not yet a Doctor, Mettaton…”_

You giggled at her comment and sighed happily. This was the most interested in a show you’ve ever been!... according to Sans.

_“Oh, well pardon me darling! I do apologize if I’ve offended you!” Mettaton gasped. You could tell from the look he wore that he was genuinely worried for the feelings of the anxious woman._

_“It’s alright, you don’t have to apologize! It’s fine, really!” Alphys squealed, shaking her hands. Undyne stepped closer to the stout woman and wrapped a slender arm around her shoulders._

_“So, Mettaton, about that dress you’re holding?” Undyne questioned, wanting to change the subject for the sake of Alphys._

_“Oh, right!” Mettaton gasped, turning his attention to the dress again. Its elegant pattern of stars on black fabric was set up on the screen. Alphys’ eye found the dress as it shimmered in the light of the stage._

_“Oh…. my goodness, that’s pretty…” She commented, stepping towards the dress ever so slightly. Her hand twitched in wanting to reach out and feel the sparkling fabric. However, she resisted, keeping her hands glued to each other in front of her._

_“Babe, you totally need to try this on!” Undyne insisted as she stepped to the dress in excitement for her lover. The two seemed to forget that they were on stage until the audience sounded in joy. Whoops and whistles were sounded in total agreement for the short woman to try on the dress that enticed her so._

_Alphys looked to her girlfriend, who was now taking the dress off of the hanger and folding it neatly. Undyne placed the dress into Alphys’ waiting hands and gave her a toothy grin. Mettaton, who sat down somewhere in the middle of Alphys’ fawning over the dress, stood from his seat and pointed in the direction of the changing rooms.  As Alphys shuffled over, Undyne was invited to sit down by Mettaton._

You decided to stop watching the show and pulled out your phone. The displayed time on your lock screen was 11:45 pm. You gasped quietly and rushed to get off the couch. Unfortunately, you stood up too fast and your stance wavered. You stopped moving, placed your hands out in front of you, and blinked rapidly to clear the black spots that tried to cloud your vision.

Sans’ head snapped upwards as soon as you stopped moving. His one blue eye seemed to shine ever-so-slightly. He tried to cover the worry on his face with a different emotion, but failed as he spoke the words, “You okay?”

You blinked a few times more before putting your arms down and replying,” Yeah, I just stood up to fast.” Sans seemed to visibly relax at this, the shine dimming as he hummed an “Oh, okay.”

You picked up your bag by the strap and slung it over your shoulder. You adjusted its position on your hip accordingly and made sure you had everything packed. You made your way over to the door and placed your hand on the knob.

“I need to get going. I almost forgot about Snowpoff.” You told Sans. He quirked an eye brow and lazily lolled his head over to look at you.

“Snowpoff?”

“Yeah, Snowpoff! My puppy!”

“Ah.” Sans said while rolling his head back to its front facing positon.

 “Anyways, Snowpoff is waiting for me, and plus its almost midnight.” You reminded Sans, who was falling asleep. “tell Papyrus I said goodbye!” you exclaimed as you opened the door and made your way to your apartment. However, once you felt the chilling breeze that swept through at this time of night, you wished you had asked Sans to drive you home. Or, at the very least, had asked him to walk with you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took way too long and i have no excuse other than I didn't have the motivation to finish p this chapter until now. Also, it is extremely hard for me to find a way to get from point A to point B. I know exactly how i want this to end, but its the process of getting there that is making me unmotivated. I like to work in a very linear style as well. If I start something with the intent to finish a certain way, i will write down the end idea, but work one chapter after another. I hate skipping around when writing and its very difficult for me to have a finished product. 
> 
> Anyways, sorry about that, I just thought id give a quick note. This chapter was a major filler and I hate writing filler chapters when it gives little to no advance to the story. Again, sorry for the very late update, but at least I'm posting it on a Friday.


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